ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Tribal Affairs
Construction of Ekalavya schools put on fast track after Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi laid foundation Stone of 50 new Eklavya Model Residential Schools on the occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Divas
New Eklavya Model Residential Schools  will be established in 26 districts of 7 States and 1 Union Territory
Eklavya Model Residential Schools aim to impart quality education to tribal students, emphasising academic schooling and all-around improvement.
The construction drive of Eklavya schools got a big boost after the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi laid foundation of 50 schools on 'Janjatiya Gaurav Divas' as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav on 15th November 2021 virtually from Bhopal. These schools are being set up in 26 districts of 7 States and 1 UT.
Shri Narendra Modi, while highlighting the importance of these schools, said that 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools will be set up across India. Each block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons will have such schools. Out of these 50 schools, 20 schools are located in Jharkhand, 15 in Odisha, 4 each in Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, 3 in Maharashtra, 2 in Madhya Pradesh and 1 each in Tripura and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. These schools are located in hilly and forest areas of the country and benefit children tribals inhabiting remotest areas of the country.
The foundation laying ceremony by the Prime Minister saw presence of dignitaries at key locations and was marked by great fanfare including cultural programmes. Sh. Arjun Munda, Minister of Tribal Affairs joined the inauguration event from Jharkhand, where 20 schools were inaugurated. In Chhattisgarh, Smt. Renuka Singh Saruta, Minister of State of Tribal Affairs graced the occasion at the EMRS site in Batouli Block, Surguja District, Chhattisgarh.
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Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas launches Open Acreage Licensing Programme Bid Round-VIII
The Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy  was promulgatedon 30 March 2016. Since thenseven rounds of Open Acreage Licensing Programme  have already been concluded and 134Exploration &Production blocks awarded comprising 2,07,691 sq.km. of area spread across 19sedimentary basins.
In continuation of its zeal to accelerate of E&P activities, the Government has now launched the OALPBid Round-VIII, offering 10 blocks,for International Competitive Bidding on July 7, 2022. The bids can be submitted through a dedicated online e-bidding portal till 1200 hrs. September 6, 2022.Successful award ofRound-VIII Blocks would add a further 36,316 sq. km of Exploration Acreage and cumulative exploration acreage under OALP regime will be increased to 2,44,007 sq. km.
The Ten blocks under present bid round are spread across 9 Sedimentary Basins and include two Onland blocks, four shallow Water blocks,two Deep Water Blocksand two Ultra-Deep Water blocks. It is expected that OALP Round VIII would generate immediate exploration work commitment of around USD 600-700million.
The Hydrocarbon Exploration & Licensing Policy , which adopts the Revenue Sharing Contract model, is a giant step towards improving the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in the Indian Exploration and Production  sector. It comes with attractive and liberal terms like reduced royalty rates, no Oil cess,no revenue share biddingfor blocks in Category-II and III Basins, marketing and pricing freedom, round the year bidding, freedom to investors for carving out blocks of their interest, a single license to cover both conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon resources, exploration permission during the entire contract period, and an easy, transparent and swift bidding and awarding process.
The XIIIthWindow for submission of Expression of Interest  is currently open till July 31, 2022.
Details of Blocks on Offer 
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S. No.
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NAME Of BLOCK
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AREA 
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BASIN
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Category
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TYPE
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1
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CB-ONHP-2022/1
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188.52
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CAMBAY
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I
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Onland
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2
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AS-ONHP-2022/1
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2057.63
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ASSAM SHELF
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I
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Onland
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3
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MB-OSHP-2022/1
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6059.94
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MUMBAI OFFSHORE
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|
I
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|
Shallow Water
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4
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GK-OSHP-2022/1
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765.54
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KUTCH
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II
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Shallow Water
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5
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KK-OSHP-2022/1
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6717.56
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KERALA KONKAN
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III
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Shallow Water
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|
6
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BP-OSHP-2022/1
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5754.92
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BENGAL-PURNEA
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|
III
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Shallow Water
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|
7
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GS-DWHP-2022/1
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|
2742.7
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SAURASHTRA
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II
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|
Deep Water
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8
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KK-DWHP-2022/1
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1112.71
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KERALA KONKAN
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III
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Deep Water
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9
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KG-UDWHP-2022/1
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1199.64
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KRISHNA- GODAVARI
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I
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Ultra-Deep Water
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|
10
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MN-UDWHP-2022/1
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9717.34
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MAHANADI
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II
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Ultra-Deep Water
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|
|
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Total
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36,316.50
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Ministry of Earth Sciences
Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre 
ESSO - Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services ,
Tsunami mock Exercise IOWave18 conducted
India, along with 23 otherIndian Ocean Nations, participated in a major Indian ocean-wide tsunami mock exercise  on 4th& 5thSeptember, 2018. The Exercise, known as IOWave18,was organized by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission  of UNESCO, which coordinated the setting up of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System  in the aftermath of the 26 December 2004 tsunami.
IOWave18 which was completed yesterday focused on a simulatingan earthquake with magnitude of 9.3 at Northern Sumatra, Indonesia at 0830 IST. All eastern coastal states participated till community level. The exercise todayis being conducted in realtime lasting for around 12 hours and ITEWC will issue 15 tsunami bulletins in all,to both national and regional stakeholders through GTS, email, fax, SMS as well as on website.
In India, IOWave18 is being coordinated by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services , Ministry of Earth Sciences  with support from National Disaster Management Authority , Ministry of Home Affairs , National Disaster Response Force  and the Coastal States/UTs.
In yesterday's exercise, over 1000 people were evacuated in Andaman & Nicobar. Similarly, in West Bengal over 1200 people were evacuated in 3 districts. In Tamil Nadu, 13 districts participated with 5054 people being evacuated. There were around 100 evacuees in Puducherry. In Andhra Pradesh 9 districts participated with over 8020 evacuees. Odisha had a participation of 6 districts  with around 1,00,000 people evacuated.
Overall over the 2-day exercise, all coastal states tested communication modes for receipt of bulletins from INCOIS. The end-to-end warning system from tsunami detection and forecast, threat evaluation and alert formulation, alert dissemination to public and their awareness and response was put to test during this exercise. Where possible states participated up to community-level with practice evacuations. 44 Coastal Districts of 9 States/UTs are participated up to community level. Community level evacuations were carried out in around 375 villages. Over 125,000 people were evacuated during the exercise.
Major General  Dr. V.K. Naik, Senior Consultant, NDMA acted as the observer for this exercise and contacted the participating states down to community level to verify their receipt of bulletins and response.
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
Rationale and process of Urea Import on Government account
The following is a rebuttal regarding the issue of import of Urea raised by ShriUttam Gupta in his article in Financial Express dated 13.01.2020.
Introduction
There are two main agricultural seasons in India – ‘Kharif’ from 1st April to 30th September and ‘Rabi’ from 1st October to 31st March. The fertilizer requirement  for a season is determined by DAC&FW in consultation with representatives of States/UTs agriculture department before the beginning of a season and communicated to DoF.
Before the beginning of each agricultural season, the Steering Committee of Secretaries  comprising of Secretary  as Chairman, Chairman Railway Board, Secretary , Secretary , Secretary  and Secretary  as its members , considers the requirement of Urea for the season determined by DAC&FW, projected indigenous production and expected UOTA imports. Based on its analysis it decides the overall quantity of urea required to be imported on Government Account in a season and authorizes Department of Fertilizers to determine the timing, quantity and STE to import urea on government account, as and when necessary, for ensuring adequate availability of urea in the country.
DoF’s Mandate
DoF is responsible for ensuring adequate and timely supply of fertilizers throughout the country. In order to bridge the gap between the assessed requirement of urea for an agricultural season as determined by DAC&FW and the indigenous production of Urea plus imports under Urea offtake Agreement  of GoI with OMIFCO, the Department of Fertilizers imports urea on government account. At present, as per DGFT Foreign Trade policy, import of urea for agriculture purposes is a canalized item and can be imported only through the State Trading Enterprises  as notified by DGFT from time to time. Currently, MMTC, STC and RCF are the notified STEs.
Process of Urea Import
Since the mandate of DoF is to ensure adequate and timely availability of Fertilizers, In this regard, to bridge the gap between the requirement and indigenous production of Urea plus imports under Urea offtake Agreement  of GoI with OMIFCO, the Department of Fertilizers imports urea on government account. The concerned STE’s are authorized on rotation basis to procure imported Urea for DoF through competitive bidding process.
In the present context, since the STEs are Public Sector Undertakings, they are required to adhere to all other directions/guidelines of the GoI on tendering and procurement to ensure international competitive bidding and secure competitive prices.
The DoF does not import Urea on its discretion. There is well designed scrutiny of the proposals to go for any lot of imports. Ascribing discretion and vested interest to DoF functionaries show lack of appreciation of efforts by them in ensuring timely supply of fertilizers to the farming community.
Ministry of Home Affairs
Union Home minister Shri Amit Shah sent his greetings on World Youth Skills Day today
The occasion also marks Five Years of Skill India Mission under visionary leadership of PM Shri Narendra Modi, says Home Minister
Skill India has played a major role in boosting the spirit of entrepreneurship among the youth – Shri Amit Shah
Union Home Minister said, by encouraging job seekers to become job givers, Skill India will surely go a long way in realising PM Modi’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah sent his greetings on World Youth Skills Day today. In a tweet, Shri Amit Shah said “the occasion also marks Five Years of Skill India Mission under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi”.
Union Home Minister added that “Skill India has been empowering the youth of the country by enhancing their inner potential by providing them with the right skill sets and has played a major role in boosting the spirit of entrepreneurship among them”.
Shri Amit Shah expressed his belief that by encouraging job seekers to become job givers, Skill India will surely go a long way in realising the Prime Minister’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
Skill India is an initiative of the Government of India which has been launched to empower the youth of the country with skill sets which make them more employable and more productive in their work environment. Skill India offers courses across several sectors which are aligned to the standards recognised by both, the industry and the government under the National Skill Qualification Framework.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
India’s Case Fatality Rate  further improves and drops to 2.25%
Total Recoveries continue on an upward trend, cross 9.5 lakh today
More than 35,000 Recoveries registered yesterday
India’s Case Fatality Rate  is progressively falling and currently, it is 2.25%. India continues its march as a country with one of the lowest fatality rates in the world. This achievement is a result of effective implementation of containment strategy combined with house-to-house surveys, aggressive testing and standardized clinical management protocols based on holistic Standard of Care approach which ensured that hospitals were left unburdened with supervised home isolation for the asymptomatic patients.
Under the guidance of Central government, State/UT governments have focused on reducing the fatalities by effectively managing the severe cases and prioritising care of the high-risk population using field health care workers leading to decrease in the CFR across the country. The CFR has reduced from around 3.33% in mid-June to 2.25% today.
The ramped up three-tier hospital infrastructure along with prompt and seamless patient management has helped consistent increase in the recoveries. For the fifth day in a row, India has seen more than 30,000 recoveries per day. The focused efforts of Centre and State/UT governments on early detection and isolation along with handholding of States/UTs by the expert teams of AIIMS, New Delhi for efficient clinical management of hospitalized cases and periodic visits of central teams, have borne results with continuously improving Recovery Rate.
The Recovery Rate has seen a sharp increase from around 53% in mid-June to more than 64% as on today. With 35,176 patients discharged in the last 24 hours, the total recoveries stand at 9,52,743.
With improving daily recovery number, the gap between the recovered cases & the active cases is also persistently increasing. Presently, it is 4,55,755. This means the actual active case load is presently 4,96,988 and all are under medical supervision.
For all authentic & updated information on COVID-19 related technical issues, guidelines & advisories please regularly visit: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/ and @MoHFW_INDIA.
Technical queries related to COVID-19 may be sent to technicalquery.covid19[at]gov[dot]in and other queries on ncov2019[at]gov[dot]in and @CovidIndiaSeva .
In case of any queries on COVID-19, please call at the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare helpline no.: +91-11-23978046 or 1075 . List of helpline numbers of States/UTs on COVID-19 is also available at https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/coronvavirushelplinenumber.pdf .
Ministry of Rural Development
E-Foundation stone laid for National Training Academy for Rural Self Employment Training Institutes in Bengaluru
RSETIs are a unique initiative to address the issue of rural poverty – Secretary, Rural Development
E-Foundation stone laying ceremony of the new training Institute building of National Academy of RUDSETI  was held yesterday. The NAR undertakes monitoring, mentoring and capacity building of the Rural Self Employment Training Institutes staff , State/UT Rural Livelihood Mission staff and the concerned Bank officials on behalf of the Ministry of Rural Development.
Addressing the participants, Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary Rural Development, Government of India, stressed that RSETIs are unique initiative where State Governments, the Union Govt. and the commercial Banks are working together to address the issue of rural poverty. He also mentioned about the importance of RSETI setup in furthering the efforts of mitigating the problem of unemployment in the country. While praising the role of NAR in standardizing the activities of RSETIs, he advised the NAR to accelerate the efforts in this direction and felt that the establishment of new campus of NAR would be a good support in this regard.
At present, these trainings are conducted in rented premises in Bengaluru or different premises in States/UTs. This proposed campus development being undertaken in the beautiful garden city of Bengaluru at the cost of Rs 25 crores will address this major problem of capacity building. The function was graced among others by Padmavibhushan Dr. D Veerendra Heggade, the President of NAR, and Ms A Manimekhalai, Executive Director, Canara Bank.
Dr D Veerendra Heggade, the President of NAR complemented the proactive approach of the Government towards adoption of successful RUDSETI model and recalled how this fine replication in the form of RSETIs is shaping the lives of the millions of rural unemployed youth. He acknowledged the great role of the Ministry of Rural Development in ensuring all the Banks in the country accept the RSETI model. This has resulted in establishment of one of the largest network of entrepreneurship development training in the country.
Ms A Manimekhalai, Executive Director, Canara Bank admired the role of NAR over the years and assured that Canara Bank would support NAR fully in future endeavors also. She whole heartedly thanked the Ministry of Rural Development, Dr Heggade and the RSETI sponsoring Banks and termed NAR as a symbol of unity of all the stakeholders in the RSETI movement.
All the dignitaries joined hands in virtually unveiling the foundation stone marking a new era for the NAR.
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
Route of National Waterway-1
The Sultanganj-Kahalgaon stretch of NW-1 passes through Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary .
Inland Waterways Authority of India  is developing the Haldia-Varanasi stretch of National Waterway-1 through the Jal Marg Vikas Project , with the technical assistance and investment support of the World Bank.
In order to ensure safe navigational activities and to ensure Environmental and Social Safeguard, IWAI carried out a comprehensive Environmental and Social Impact Assessment  study on NW-1 including the stretch falling within VGDS. The Environment Impact Assessment  reports include the impact assessment with reference to the Gangetic Dolphins and Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary, Bhagalpur also. The report recommended mitigation/ safeguard measures  for safe navigational activities in NW-1 including VGDS and other aquatic animals protected areas.
Mitigation/ safeguard measures for safe navigational activities in NW-1 including dolphins and other aquatic animals protected areas.
- Vessel speed would be restricted to 2.7 knots in Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary  area to reduce the noise generation from propeller. Restricting speed of vessels in sanctuary area can maintain noise levels lower than tolerance levels of dolphins, thus minimizing impact of noise on dolphins.
- Vessels would be fitted with propeller guards and dolphin deflectors to minimize dolphin accidents.
- Usage of non-toxic and non TBT containing anti-fouling paints for painting vessel.
- Barge/vessel movement would be restricted to the designated route only to minimize disturbance of aquatic life.
- If any aquatic mammal/dolphin is spotted, then the measures will be taken to push it away through sirens/signals.
- All waste from vessels shall be discharged at designated terminals/vessel repair facility only.
This information was given by Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shri Sarbananda Sonowal in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Culture
Ministry of Culture organizes “Daakroom”, the letter writing carnival in Association with Department of Post
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Major Highlights:
- The one-of-a-kind letter writing event, supported by India Post, Ministry of Culture and Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti is aimed to give a digital detox.
- Creative activities around Philately, Calligraphy, Stationery design, Handwriting improvement, Graphology, Origami were also organized on the occasion.
Under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Ministry of Culture in association with Department of Post unveiled Daakroom, the renowned letter writing carnival today at the Gandhi Darshan at Raj Ghat, New Delhi.
The one-of-a-kind letter writing event, supported by India Post, Ministry of Culture and Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti is aimed to give a digital detox with the aim of reviving the art of letter writing in India.
The fest started at around 10 a.m. on Sunday in the presence of chief guest Shri Vijay Goel, the Vice Chairman of Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, and guests of honor from the Ministry of Culture and India Post, and other supporting partners, as well as people from different walks of life.
Joint Secretary for Ministry of Culture Mrs. Uma Nanduri said “We are very happy to know that an initiative like Daakroom is trying to revive handwritten communication - such a rich part of our history and culture. Under the aegis of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, we are doing activities in the field of health and wellness for people. Digital detoxification is the need of the hour and such initiatives will inspire people to pick pen and paper for writing letters as a powerful tool of communication as well as learning.”
The unique carnival conceptualized to re-introduce children & larger audiences to letter writing in innovative, creative, and engaging ways, also hosted competitions and workshops around writing and post. It also included music, theatre, dance, stand-up comedy, shopping, food and interactive demos from the Postal Department, deploying fun ways to get people of all age groups excited about letter writing.
Creative activities around Philately, Calligraphy, Stationery design, Handwriting improvement, Graphology, Origami were also organized on the occasion.
Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation
General Guidelines on Quality Assurance for Official Statistics notified
In response to the need for ensuring quality in the Official Statistics being produced in all levels of Government so that public trust in official statistics is maintained, the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation has notified “General Guidelines on Quality Assurance for Official Statistics” in Government of India Gazette Extraordinary No. 124 of 6th April, 2018. This can be accessed at http://mospi.nic.in/sites/default/files/main_menu/gazette_notification/notification_6apr18.pdf also. These Guidelines are for use and voluntary compliance by all the offices dealing with statistical matters including administrative statistics.
These Guidelines are useful to producers of official statistics in designing any statistical collection or product. These are also helpful to users in making informed decisions regarding the use of statistical products since the framework enables an assessment whether the statistics produced are fit for use, or are of an acceptable level of quality for their purposes.
All statistical agencies at the Centre and in the States/UTs have been advised to follow the guidelines, and bring these to the notice of all line Departments and Local Governments to improve the quality of their official statistical products. The agencies have also been advised to place in the public domain the manner of compliance with the Guidelines.
UPSC
Recruitment results finalized by UPSC in May, 2023
The following Recruitment Results have been finalized by the Union Public Service Commission during the month of May, 2023. The recommended candidates have been informed individually by post. Applications of other candidates were duly considered but regretted that it has not been possible to call them for interview/recommend them for the post.
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